Mum's warning as 11-month-old baby suffers horrific burns after pan of boiling rice fell on him in freak accident

A MUM was left distraught after her 11-month-old baby suffered horrific burns when a pan of boiling rice fell on him in a freak accident.

Little Chester was left in agony with shocking injuries after the boiling-hot water and rice fell on to him – scolding his neck, tummy and leg.

His mum Amber Walker was just inches from him when the awful ‘split second’ accident happened – which saw her cheeky baby grab hold of a sweeping broom and catch the handle of the pan.

Chester's parents, from Lichfield, Staffs, have now given a stark warning to other mums and dads – so that the same frightening ordeal doesn't happen to other tots.

The married mum-of-two described the terrifying moment her son was injured on February 22.

Heartbroken Amber, 25, said: “We have an open plan kitchen and dining area, and due to limited space, the dining room is also used as a play room.

“It was a normal day, I was making the children some lunch and had a pan of rice on the hob. I never leave the handles facing out, it was turned to the side.

“We have very limited storage and I had a sweeping broom propped against the wall. In a split second, Chester grabbed the broom, swung it around and caught the handle of the pan.

“I was stood next to him and I couldn’t have stopped it, it happened in a flash.”

The pan hit Chester on the top of his head and bounced away – saving one side of his body from the boiling water.

Amber said: “The pan fell down on to him and he suffered burns to his neck, tummy and leg. He also has a small patch on his shoulder.”

The 25-year-old's first instinct was to remove her son’s short-sleeved t-shirt and trousers.

Her husband Ross, 28 is a truck driver and was working nearby when it happened and she said: “While I called 999, I managed to call Ross at the same time.

"I didn’t even explain I just told him to get home now, then I tried to concentrate on what the call handler was telling me.

“It was heart breaking, Chester was screaming and it was so difficult to stay calm and focused and listen to what I needed to do.”

Ross was home within minutes and helped to calm Chester and continued to keep him under the cold shower.

Amber was later told her instinct to remove his clothes was correct as materials can stick to the skin and cause more damage to the area.

She added: "You have to do this for 20-30 minutes. It was so hard to do because of the pain he was in but it can make all the difference to saving the skin. Ross was brilliant, he kept me calm."

Paramedics arrived within 15 minutes and Chester was taken to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Once in A&E, Chester was put in a baby bath and put under cold water again for a further 10 minutes, before wrapping the affected areas in cling film and given morphine for the pain.

He suffered seven per cent burns to his body.

Amber said: “Everything passed by in a blur. His injuries were caused by the amount of hot water that was in the pan, it has only been on the hob for around five minutes, but was cooking on a high heat.”

The following day Chester had a scrub down, where the affected areas are gently scrubbed to remove dead skin and he was wrapped in fresh dressings.

Amber said: “Doctors said to prepare ourselves for things to look worse, as they can’t rule out a skin graft until 48 hours after, so we had to wait and see if they needed to use skin from his scalp.

“They decided at the time not to, but it may be something he needs at a later date. We just have to wait and see. His treatment will be ongoing, he has a long road to fully recovering.

“I am trying to keep myself busy, I’ve set up a fundraising page so I don’t think about how bad it could have been.

"I am dealing with so much guilt, I want to do something positive and hopefully raise some money for the incredible staff that have looked after him.

"What happened has affected Ross too, it's not just mums that are upset when something happens. Something awful like this affects men too."

Amber added: “Chester was born premature and had Sepsis, so we have to be extra careful with infections.

"He has good and bad days. He is smiling and playing with his brother. He does get distressed at night because he prefers to breast feed on the side he can’t lie on but generally day to day he is ok in himself and he is taking pain relief.”

His guilt ridden mum has spoken out to warn other parents of hidden dangers in the home. She said “I never thought of the hob, because he isn’t walking yet and he isn’t tall enough to reach.

“Chester is very curious and a typical baby, trying to do everything he shouldn’t. He is cruising and trying to walk but I could never have predicted what happened with the broom but it doesn’t stop me feeling guilty.

"I have had some criticism but nobody can say anything that I haven’t already thought myself. Nobody’s comments can make me feel any worse than I already do.”

She added: “We have locks on the cupboards and even on the oven door. We have safety measures all over the house and stairgates where we can.

“I want to help raise awareness. Accidents happen, however careful we are and I want other parents to know what to do because instinct doesn’t always kick in and it was such a panicked situation but you have to act fast.”

Amber said: “I didn’t know that a cup of tea can still scold 15 minutes after it is made. 35 babies and toddlers are hurt every day by a cup of tea, that’s over 10,000 a year.

"Burns and accidents are much more common that people think and knowing what to do can make all the difference.”

You can donate to their fundraising page here.

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